Youth have an outstanding opportunity to bring transformative changes into societies around the world: Dr. V K Saraswat

1458 students were awarded degrees at the XX convocation of the University of the Hyderabad (UoH), on Monday, 1st October 2018. The event, held at Brahma Kumaris Shanti Sarovar, had Dr. V K Saraswat, Member NITI Aayog and former Director-DRDO as the distinguished Chief Guest. 210 students were awarded PhD and 111 meritorious students received Gold Medals for exemplary performances in their respective fields at the Convocation.

The event started with the arrival of the academic procession to the convocation hall after which the Chancellor, Justice L Narasimha Reddy, declared the convocation open.

Justice L Narasimha Reddy, Chancellor of UoH, Prof. Appa Rao Podile Vice-Chancellor of UoH, Prof. Arun Agarwal and Prof. P Prakash Babu Pro Vice-Chancellors of UoH, Shri P Sardar Singh, Registrar UoH and Deans of various Schools were among the dignitaries who graced the occasion with their gracious presence.

The following teachers of the University were conferred the Chancellor’s Award at the Convocation for their contributions in teaching and research among the year 2018:

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Prof. Ravi Kumar Gutti, School of Life Sciences

Prof. Alok Singh, School of Computer and Information Sciences

Prof. Tushar Jana, School of Chemistry

Prof. Nagaraju Gundimeda, School of Social Sciences

Dr. Md. Zahidul Haque, School of Humanities

Dr. C. Mohan Rao, CSIR Distinguished Scientist at CCMB and an alumnus of 1984 batch, PhD-Chemistry and Shri Ch. Dwaraka Tirumala Rao, IPS, Commissioner of Police, Vijayawada, and an alumnus of 1984-86 MSc-Mathematics & Statistics, were presented the Distinguished Alumnus Award instituted for the very first time for significant achievements in their field.

Ms. Judagiri Santha Kumari, a student of M.A. Telugu, won Five Donor Gold Medals – Smt. Ravuri Kantamma Bharadwaja Medal, Prof. P. Ramanarasimham Medal, Sri Nittala Venkata Somayajulu Memorial Medal, Sri Darla Abbai Memorial Gold Medal and Mahakavi Dasu Sreeremaulu Smaraka Samithi Medal.

Dr. Vijay Kumar Saraswat in his Convocation address motivated the graduating students and scholars to do well for themselves and the country. He said, “You are graduating at a time when our nation is surging forward in all fields. The knowledge that you have gained, the opportunities and options that you have affords you the freedom to choose your area of interest which choice many of your previous generations did not have. You are empowered with knowledge, now you will have to fortify it with your personal qualities like honesty, hard work, sincerity and integrity and top it all-with a sense of pride to serve the nation. I am quite confident that you will have the most rewarding experience in the years to come”. Drawing upon from his life experiences he expounded on the importance of self-belief, quoting Swami Vivekananda, “All power is within you. You can do anything and everything. Believe in that. Do not believe that you are weak; do not believe that you are half crazy lunatics, as most of us do nowadays. Stand up and express the divinity within you.”

“The philosophy of young people of the nation must comprise design thinking and innovation. Design is a continuous process of innovation that develops gradually, not abruptly. Creativity is both soul and spirit of design. Design thinking is an active process that strives for continuous reinvention and consistently challenging the existing things in a way ahead to ongoing evolution. We need to think creatively in daily life not only in technocratic traditions but also in terms of enhancing the daily lives of people”, said Dr. Saraswat.

Dr. Saraswat further added, “Youth have an outstanding opportunity to bring transformative changes into societies around the world. They are at the forefront promoting sustainable development values such as human rights and social justice. Youth are best positioned to offer new way of thinking and fresh conceptualization”.

Concluding his address Dr. Saraswat advised the graduates, “My dear young friends, you may choose any of these dreams but success in any of them is like an Iceberg. People see only the tip of the iceberg but hidden underneath in water are the building blocks of the success via hard work, habits, sacrifice, massive action, failures, persistence, goals, focus and risks. Success remains elusive unless we learn how to climb the ladder of these building blocks. I am confident that the knowledge which you have gained will help you to emerge like an iceberg – a winner all the way”.

Earlier Dr. V K Saraswat presented medals to the meritorious students of the University.

In his address to the gathering, Prof. Appa Rao Podile, Vice-Chancellor UoH, commended all the graduates who received their degrees and wished them luck for their bright future. Talking about the achievements of the University of Hyderabad, he said. “The university has completed 44 years and is rated as one of the top universities in India and is achieving honours and attaining standards that set a bench mark.” Further he applauded the remarkable contribution of faculty members to the institution in their respective genres. He quoted a very famous line by John Shedd, “A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” “I hope that for all of you, this is merely the start of more glorious and full of accomplishment journey, as you part from the University to start a new expedition”, he added.

Prof. Appa Rao, while addressing the graduates, said, “I must also express my own expectations from the fellow students. Those present here are fortunate to be part of the higher education system but there are many who are deprived of education and all connected facilities. After your graduation and post-graduation, I appeal to you to think of your deprived brethren who still live on the fringes of society”. “The linkages between educational institutions and the community need to be strengthened. Sustainable growth can be achieved through a sustainable human resource, which we have to build and provide”, he added.

While concluding his report Prof. Appa Rao wished a cheerful commencement to all the young students describing them as bright futures of the nation, and quoted “Mitch Albom” message that “Every ending is a beginning! We just don’t know it at the time.”

The gathering also witnessed the presence of faculty, parents and family members who were there to encourage and applaud the achievement of the graduating students.

The program concluded with the National Anthem after which the auditorium turned into festive mode as students clad in off-white ethnic wears joyously congratulated each other and posed for the shutterbugs with their teachers, family and friends.

By Zeenat Shana, Department of Communication
Ashish Jacob Thomas, PRO